Aishiteru
by Greensword101
Summary: The Japanese word for I love you. Hiro comes to his older brother with some questions about this and feelings he has started to develop for someone he didn't expect. Not Hidashi. A character study in shipping.


**Author's Note:** Quick question before we get into this; what is the best day to post fics on this site? I've been struggling with that notion for a few years now.

 **Disclaimer:** All rights to Big Hero 6 belong to Man of Action, Marvel Comics, and Walt Disney Pictures.

 **(0-0)**

 _Knock! Knock!_

Tadashi looked up from his computer, "Door's unlocked. You can come in."

Gently pushing the door open was his little brother, Hiro. His head was looking down at the ground, avoiding Tadashi's gaze. Tadashi frowned and walked over to Hiro, closing the door gently before leading Hiro over to a nearby chair. Hiro sat down and watched his brother go to the other side of the room and roll back over on a computer chair, his chest leaning on the back.

"Classes going okay?" Tadashi asked gently, arms crossed and tucked underneath his head.

Hiro nodded.

"Is your advisor giving you a hard time?"

"No…Granville's fine."

Tadashi bit his lip and looked at the door for a moment. Something about Hiro was off; the way he tried to avoid looking at Tadashi in the face, his fingers curling up on the armrests, gnawing at his lower lip so hard that Tadashi was worried he would see a trickle of blood. Bullying? No. Hiro would have already taken care of it. He knew how to defend himself. But…what if the bullying was _different?!_

No, that was also unlikely. The campus was safe, Hiro spent his free time outside of class in Tadashi's lab while he was around – Granville wasn't as lenient as Callaghan was, she insisted that Tadashi be in the lab with Hiro – and Hiro had watched enough horror movies to know _not_ to go into dark spaces without a friend.

His body language wasn't shying away like someone had hurt him – God help the next person who would even _try_ – but more along the line of being in front of…Aunt Cass! Of course!

"Why don't you tell me what's bugging you, little brother?" Tadashi smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Well," Hiro looked down, combing his hand through his hair, "I don't know where to start."

"The beginning, maybe?" Tadashi smirked.

"Yeah," Hiro chuckled nervously, "that would work."

He took a deep breath and continued,

"What…what is your…opinion about…love?" Hiro looked up for a moment, his face blushing a little.

Tadashi leaned against the table behind him, "It comes in all shapes and sizes. But…"

His eyes widened as the words sunk in, "You like someone."

Hiro nodded.

"Do they know you like them?"

Hiro shook his head, his face becoming redder. Tadashi saw Hiro's lips twitch a little, like he was trying to hide a smile. Hiding smiles meant it wasn't a normal case of crushing, then.

"Are they older? Is that the problem?"

Hiro nodded, shutting his eyes tight and sighed.

"Hiro, you're not in trouble. I'm just trying to help you," Tadashi got out of his chair, lifted Hiro up and sat down on the chair again with his brother on his lap. Hiro opened one eye slowly but didn't respond.

He wasn't even complaining about being treated like a baby. Oh boy…

Tadashi sighed, "Is it someone that I know?"

No response this time. Hiro looked away again. Tadashi chuckled softly, he was starting to get an idea, now. He knew how Hiro looked at her, after all.

"Just wait a few years, then. I'm sure Honey Lemon will give you a better chance by then."

Hiro chuckled a little loudly, "Y-yeah. I'm sure she'll give me a chance then…"

His tone sounded a little crestfallen. Tadashi frowned. Honey Lemon wasn't dating at the moment…Hiro should have sounded optimistic, not disappointed.

"Soooo…someone that I know, but _not_ Honey Lemon," Tadashi said, "right?"

"Yeah…"

"You don't think Go Go will like you in a few years, then?"

"She's like a sister…" Hiro's face was almost completely red, "and I think she would be competition in the long run."

 _Competition…? Who does Go Go like that Hiro does? I don't remember her being into…_

"I mean, she's been beating around the bush with Wasabi for a while, now…" Hiro shrugged, but Tadashi could hear the disappointment in his voice sinking faster than a rock in water.

 _Wasabi?_

Hiro looked at Tadashi in the face now, with a nervous smile.

"I like Honey Lemon _and_ Wasabi…"

"Oh," Tadashi's eyes widened a moment later, finally making the connection, " _Oh_."

"Please don't tell Aunt Cass…" Hiro winced, smile gone, and his face becoming chalky-white. The last time Tadashi saw that happen was when they were both bailed from the police station the last – officially _the_ last, in Tadashi's opinion – time Hiro went out to go Bot-fighting.

"W-what? Why would Aunt Cass be mad about this? She _loves_ us!"

"She loves no trouble," Hiro pushed himself off Tadashi's lap and started walking for the door, "Sorry for bugging you, bro…"

"Hiro, wait," Tadashi stood up while Hiro looked at him wide-eyed.

"Okay, how about you take a deep breath…" Hiro did so, "…and relax. You're not in trouble. Nothing you've done has been a problem. So…Wasabi, too?"

"Yeah," Hiro sighed, "I-I don't know how he'd…react. I mean, Honey Lemon, she's _awesome_ and sweet and I still can't believe she kissed me on the cheeks, I thought my face was on fire and the way she just stayed close..."

Hiro looked off wistfully with a small smile, his face becoming red again.

"When did you start noticing Wasabi?"

Hiro's cheeks became redder and he ducked his head, "That one time he had his shoulder around me while you guys were giving me a tour of the campus. He was just so…casual…about it and…it just felt so good and I didn't want him to let go and…"

Tadashi knelt down, keeping his hand on Hiro's shoulder.

"And?" He asked encouragingly.

"And I noticed some other guys, too, back in high school…" Hiro sighed, "It took Wasabi's hand on my shoulder for me to notice…and it felt _great._ It's just…he's so nice and seeing that smile on his face really makes my day. And…and just _knowing_ more about him made it better 'cause…I didn't want to think it was just, you know, _physical_. He's smart, he's organized, something about the way he acts makes everything feel more balanced. He _loves_ to cook, he just becomes a completely different person when you put him in front of a cutting board. It's a lot like how I look at Honey Lemon. She's just so… _kind_."

Hiro's voice cracked a little. He cleared his throat and looked down.

"I never went to a school dance. Ever. Most of the kids were already older than me, I didn't know anybody I could talk to. And I thought I was surrounded by idiots and that they were just so…"

Hiro waved his left hand carelessly,

"…shallow. I could deal with idiots hating me for being smart. I can deal with ticking you off from time to time. I could deal with sore losers like Yama in Bot-fights. I just…"

Hiro covered his face. For a moment, Tadashi thought he was going to start sobbing – _my God, how long has he been keeping this in for?!_ – when Hiro just started groaning. Tadashi recognized it, he could hear the frustration and embarrassment seeping into Hiro's voice like water in soil. He heard it only three times before; the first time Hiro was moved up a grade at the age of eight, when Tadashi caught him Bot-fighting for the first time, and during the first night Hiro struggled to come up with an idea for the Expo.

Hiro's voice was muffled, " _Man_ , I feel so, so… _weird_."

Tadashi pulled him into a hug, "You _are_ a knucklehead, you know that?"

Hiro sighed and wrapped his arms around Tadashi's neck.

"It's okay to like someone your gender. Are you hurting anyone?"

"No…"

"Then why are you worried about it?" Tadashi asked gently.

"Well… _man_ I wish I spoke up sooner…I just don't want the others to look at me differently. I don't want to deal with them not liking me just because I can like guys just as much as girls. I mean, they're not _really_ my friends, they just hang out with me because…because I'm your younger bro."

Tadashi's eyes widened. He spoke quietly, "You think our friends – yes, Hiro, they're _your_ friends too – would hate you just because you realize you like a girl _and_ a guy."

"Well, maybe if they think I want to get into polyamory with Wasabi and Honey Lemon," Hiro pulled back. Tadashi tried looking for a hint of a smirk or something to imply that he was joking. The moment he tried collecting himself, he saw the smirk and smiled, letting his body relax and sag.

And then, he broke out into laughter, warmth spreading throughout his body as the joke sunk in. His little brother was _still_ his little brother.

"Thanks, Tadashi," Hiro smiled and started sniffing, "I _really_ needed this talk…"

The laughter died down several moments later as Tadashi collected his breath. He looked at his brother critically.

"One piece of advice for you, little brother? Wait a few years. You're fourteen and it would be against the law."

Hiro scoffed, "I know _that_ part! Just needed to get it off my chest first."

"Also…get practice in the meantime."

Hiro stared, his face becoming red _again_. Tadashi rolled his eyes, not wanting to or caring about how the words were interpreted…well, maybe a _little_ bit.

Tadashi sighed, "I mean, just _try_ finding someone your own age first, if you don't want to wait that long."

"Um…"

"Okay, scratch that. Just…keep doing what you're doing. Don't worry about romance until you have the time. And, if someone does look interesting – _and if they're around your age!_ – just…take a chance. Know them."

"So…wait for it?" Hiro frowned.

Tadashi rubbed the back of his neck, "That's what I'm doing right now. And that's what I'll still be doing until someone comes up."

"I don't want to wait that long, though…" Hiro looked up at the ceiling, "A lot of kids my age have gone dating and kissing and maybe even after that –"

"You _do_ realize Aunt Cass would kill you if you did 'even after that' right?"

"Yeah," Hiro chuckled, "Probably castrate me in my sleep with a rusty carving knife."

Tadashi started chuckling a moment later, until he saw someone entering the lab.

" _Ficken!_ "

"Tadashi Hamada," Hiro's chuckling started dying down, "did you _actually_ swear? _Tsk, tsk, tsk._ What would Aunt Cass say about that – and she's right behind me, isn't she?"

Tadashi nodded.

"HIRO HAMADA, YOU THINK I WOULD _CASTRATE YOU?!"_

"AUNT CASS!" Hiro spun around and faced her with a large grin on his face, "Fancy seeing you here, of all places."

Aunt Cass scowled, "It's called 'checking on my boys once in a while'."

"So, um…how much of the conversation did you hear?" Hiro chuckled nervously.

"Just the part about getting 'practice'," Aunt Cass made quotes in the air, "and some imaginary rusty carving knife I would use on you."

"Hiro was just getting some dating advice from his favorite big brother," Tadashi walked over and wrapped an arm around Hiro's shoulder. Hiro scowled and looked in the opposite direction.

"Okay," Aunt Cass sighed. She looked at Hiro, "Sweetie, I love you. And I would _never_ hurt you for doing what I think I heard you talking about."

"Meaning…?" Hiro's face turned a little pale as he looked at her.

"Going beyond kissing," Aunt Cass answered.

Hiro huffed in relief, "Yeah, definitely not doing _that._ "

Aunt Cass smiled, "If you want advice from this Christmas Cake –"

"Aunt Cass!" Tadashi protested.

"– take your time and take a chance when you see it...within reason, I mean."

"We were actually talking about that, just now," Tadashi grinned, "Maybe I could drag him to the park and talk to someone his age."

"Alright," Aunt Cass nodded, "whatever you think works. And Hiro, I want you to know that as far as I'm concerned, the only issue should be age and if they're good people…and not related."

Tadashi placed a hand on his chest and opened his mouth in mock offense, "You know, _I_ am hurt you would think that about Hiro."

Hiro rolled his eyes, "Like I would want to date my brother. Seriously. You should know Rule 69 of the Hamada Brothers Rules by now, Aunt Cass."

She smiled nervously, "And rule 69 is…?"

Tadashi and Hiro fist-bumped and said in unison, "Hamada Bros are for family, _not dating!_ "

"Right…that rule," Aunt Cass nodded slowly, "keep forgetting about that one…glad you made it. Well, see you at lunch! I heard they're serving deep fried strawberry cheesecake in the dining hall!"

Several moments after Aunt Cass left the lab, Hiro's eyes widened as he processed her words, "Wait, she thinks I _won't_ date someone good that _isn't_ you?! I'm a SUPERHERO for crying out loud!"

Tadashi chuckled, "You're a knucklehead, too, you know. And, by the way, Rule 69? Was that really necessary to bring it up?"

Hiro shrugged, "Big brother, we agreed to make that number work for laughs. And now that you know I'm bi, it makes it more effective."

"Unbelievable…"

 **(0-0)**

 **Author's Note:** And this, ladies and gentlemen, concludes my first fic about character interpretation. No romance and no underage stuff, simply a brother giving a brother advice. If you want to ship Hiro with other characters that are clearly older than him, just remember three things: Make sure he's bi, make sure he's of age, and make sure it's not with anyone he's related to. Making him gay outright wouldn't work – he has a canonical crush on Honey Lemon in the original comics and blushed when she kissed him on the cheeks in the movie, for crying out loud – but if you want to do a shipping fic with another guy, at least acknowledge his interest in girls too or just don't bring it up.

Happy Valentine's Day!


End file.
